This article talks about how games can be a catalyst to certain health problems in individuals.
Quote from the article stats: "The games made the affects of these problems worse and gave the people something to use to escape their day-to-day existence but, if you removed the games completely, the root problems would still be there."
http://arstechnica.com/gaming/news/2009/01/gaming-addiction-a-symptom-hiding-the-real-problem.ars
Quote from the article stats: "The games made the affects of these problems worse and gave the people something to use to escape their day-to-day existence but, if you removed the games completely, the root problems would still be there."
http://arstechnica.com/gaming/news/2009/01/gaming-addiction-a-symptom-hiding-the-real-problem.ars
This was an interesting article. I remember hearing a couple years ago that video games were actually a way to treat more violent personalities. If the person could play a violent video game than they wouldn't have the desire to be as violent in real life. That person could become hooked to a violent video game because that was how they felt. I think one problem with a video game addiction is that the games allow us to do unrealistic things that are "so much cooler" than we could normally do, so we want to play them all the time instead of doing something just "normal".
ReplyDeleteI agree with Kellie that games can be particularly addicting because they allow us to do things we could never do in real life. This along with the statement in this article by Dr. Walsh that games can be more addictive than other kinds of media due to the interactive nature of the art form make me think that although in moderation they may not be harmful, it is easy to be drawn in and not even realize just how much time you are spending.
ReplyDeleteIt is interesting, because I've asked a lot of people their opinions on this topic and I've seen a general belief that gaming is just evidence of having an "addictive personality" and like mentioned here that the root problems would still be there if you removed the games. Yet I feel that is similar to saying that it is not worth taking cigarettes away from someone because the root problem would still exist. Yes, there are still root problems and these need to be addressed, but that doesn't mean that someone should be given something that is potentially harmful to them.
Gaming has become a big problem in the US and I wish that we had some way of motivating those that are addicted to video games to reduce there playing time or eliminate the games in general from the child’s life.
ReplyDelete